Elbebrücke Wittenberg, Railway bridge in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany.
Elbebrücke Wittenberg is a 333.2 m two-track railway bridge on the Berlin–Halle line, crossing the Elbe at kilometre 96. Its three-field steel structure has a 156.8 m main span formed by a tied-arch truss with a 27 m high arch, flanked by two 88.2 m side spans; the 11 m high river piers widen upward in a bone shape, and a five-field prestressed concrete approach bridge about 140 m long continues to the north.
The first railway bridge over the Elbe opened in 1859 with the Bitterfeld line of the Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahngesellschaft, a wrought-iron structure with spans of about 20 m. In 1888 two 43 m truss girders replaced four river fields; the eight flood fields followed in 1906 and the two long river spans in 1926. German troops destroyed the long superstructures in April 1945; a temporary bridge restored rail traffic that July, Roth-Waagner steel spans followed in 1947, and new truss superstructures in 1965.
The bridge carries the Berlin–Halle line, part of the Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit No. 8.3 upgrade, and stands beside a road bridge built at the same time. Its 2000 opening shifted the railway about 350 m upstream, so the crossing now sits next to the road crossing on the Elbe meadows.
The bridge carries the Berlin–Halle line at kilometre 96, with a permitted maximum speed of 160 km/h. The railway crosses at an angle of about 62 gon, and the northern edge field curves to follow the relocated alignment. The structure stands about 350 m upstream of the old crossing; the parallel road bridge runs alongside it.
In 2001, a modified suspension system was installed using specialized welding techniques to reduce wind vibration. This adaptation makes it an interesting example of engineering solutions against natural forces.
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